LE PRIEUR, Yves Paul Gaston

LE PRIEUR, Yves Paul Gaston

France (1885-1963)

Last updated: May 25, 2020 at 2:50 am

Inventor; modified the Rouquayrol Denayrouse diving apparatus by combining a demand valve and high pressure air tank (1500 psi) thus eliminating all hoses and lines in 1933 (French patent 768083, 1934); demonstrated the “Fernez-Le Prieur” diving apparatus (scuba) in Paris in 1926; co-founder of the world’s first scuba diving club, the Club des scaphandres et de la vie sous l’eau, a.k.a. Les Sous l’eau, with Jean Painlevé in 1934; flew a glider of his invention in Japan in 1909 while serving as military attaché at the French embassy; first Frenchman to earn a Black Belt in judo; designed various military weaponry including the first air-to-air combat rockets in 1916.

International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame (Early Pioneer, 2010)

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